Hitachi, Ltd.

Fujifilm Healthcare Corporation

Ryota Satoh

Toru Shirai

Hisaaki Ochi

Yoshitaka Bito

Yo Taniguchi

Takenori Murase

Tomoki Amemiya

Yoshihisa Sotome

Masahiro Takizawa

Yasuhiro Kamada

Yasuo Kawata

Yoshitaka Sato

Suguru Yokosawa

Keisuke Nishio

Kohsuke Kudo

The most appropriate image for a diagnostic target among a plurality of images is selected and accurate diagnosis support information is presented regardless of the type of a selected image, a modality, or the like. An image diagnosis support apparatus includes: a diagnostic information generation unit that generates diagnostic information based on a plurality of medical images; a reliability calculation unit that evaluates an image quality and calculates an image reliability for each of the plurality of medical images; and a degree-of-contribution calculation unit that calculates a degree of contribution of each of the plurality of medical images to the diagnostic information using an internal parameter indicating a degree of appropriateness of each medical image for a diagnostic target and the reliability calculated by the reliability calculation unit. An image for detection used by the diagnostic information generation unit is generated based on the degree of contribution.

Image diagnosis support apparatus, image diagnosis support program, and medical image acquisition apparatus including the same

To provide a technique in which, in imaging using an EPI method, an occurrence of an artifact when phase correction is performed for each channel is avoided and the phase correction is accurately performed. A common phase correction value to be applied to data of all channels is calculated using pre-scan data of each channel. The common phase correction value is obtained by combining a difference phase obtained for each of the channels. The difference phase is obtained by complex integration, while an absolute value of each channel is maintained as it is. The combination is performed by complex average, and averaging processing according to a weight of the absolute value is performed. The occurrence of an artifact can be prevented by using the common phase correction value, and robust phase correction can be performed by including the weight of the absolute value.

Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, image processing apparatus, and phase correcting method

In brain analysis, anatomical standardization is performed when analyzing a region of interest (ROI). There are individual differences in the shape and size of the brain and by converting the brain into a standard brain, these differences can be compared with each other and subjected to statistical analysis. When generating a standard brain analysis, a large number of pieces of image data are classified into a plurality of groups based on their anatomical features. An intermediate template that is an intermediate conversion image and a conversion map is calculated for each group, and the calculation of the intermediate template and the generation of the intermediate conversion image are repeated while gradually reducing the number of classifications, so that a final standard image is generated. Using the standard image and the intermediate template calculated during the generation of the standard image, spatial standardization of the measured image is performed.

Medical image processing apparatus, medical image analysis apparatus, and standard image generation program

Provided is a technique for supporting a diagnosis in determining disease by using various types of measured values acquired by a medical image acquisition apparatus. An image diagnosis support device includes a measured-value receiving unit configured to receive various types of measured values at a plurality of positions within a living body, a group generator configured to generate groups of the measured values depending on the position or the type of the measured value, an intermediate index calculator configured to calculate an intermediate index from the measured values included in the group on a per-group basis, and a comprehensive index calculator configured to calculate a comprehensive index from values of the intermediate index calculated on a per-group basis. The intermediate index and the comprehensive index are displayed on a display unit in a display mode such as numerical values and in the form of an image.

Image diagnosis support device, image diagnosis support program, and medical image acquisition apparatus

Magnetic susceptibility is calculated with high accuracy without significant increase of calculation time. Provided is an image processing device comprising an image processor for creating a susceptibility image representing a magnetic susceptibility of at least one tissue of the subject, from an image created on the basis of magnetic resonance signals generated from a subject, wherein the image processor includes an image separator configured to separate from the image, a specific tissue image representing a content of a predetermined specific tissue and a frequency image, an adder-subtractor configured to calculate a post-subtraction frequency image obtained by subtracting from the frequency image, frequency change caused by the specific tissue, and an image converter configured to calculate a specific susceptibility image representing the magnetic susceptibility of the specific tissue on the basis of the specific tissue image, and to calculate a post-subtraction susceptibility image on the basis of the post-subtraction frequency image.

Image processing device, image processing method, image processing program, and magnetic resonance imaging device

In an image acquired by a plurality of receiver coils with the use of MRI, separated images are obtained by separating spatially overlapping signals according to PI method, and noise in the separated images is eliminated with a high degree of precision. A complex image spatially overlapping is measured from nuclear magnetic resonance signals received by a plurality of receiver coils, and spatially overlapping signals are separated and a plurality of separated images are calculated, by using sensitivity information of the plurality of receiver coils. Then, noise is eliminated based on a correlation of noise mixed between the separated images.

Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and noise elimination method

Accuracy degradation due to a signal loss is reduced, and susceptibility is calculated with high accuracy where, by using an MRI, at least one echo is acquired where spatial magnetic field inhomogeneity is reflected, and a complex image is calculated from the acquired echo. Three masks are calculated from the calculated complex image; a low-signal region mask representing a low signal region, a first high-signal region mask representing a high signal and high fat content region, and a second high-signal region mask representing a high signal and low fat content region. In calculating a susceptibility image from a frequency image or a magnetic field image generated from the complex image, the susceptibility image is obtained under the constraint that a region defined by the low-signal region is set as a background and the susceptibility of the region defined by the second high-signal region mask is set to a specific value.

Magnetic resonance imaging device, magnetic resonance imaging method and susceptibility calculation program

A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes: a static magnetic field generating magnet configured to generate a static magnetic field in a space where a subject is arranged; a transmission unit configured to transmit a high frequency magnetic field to the subject; a reception unit configured to receive a nuclear magnetic resonance signal generated in the subject due to transmission of the high-frequency magnetic field thereto; a gradient magnetic field application unit configured to apply a gradient magnetic field which adds positional information to the nuclear magnetic resonance signal; a computer configured to control the transmission unit, the reception unit, and the gradient magnetic field application unit, and configured to process the nuclear magnetic resonance signal; and a display unit configured to display an image processed by the computer; and the computer performs a predetermined calculation processing.

Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus

Provided is an image processor including a tissue-segmentation-processing-unit that performs tissue segmentation processing on at least one of a plurality of complex images generated based on a magnetic resonance signal generated from a subject to calculate a tissue-image related to a predetermined specific tissue, a magnetic-susceptibility-image-calculation-unit that calculates a magnetic-susceptibility-image showing magnetic susceptibility of a predetermined tissue included in the complex image from the complex image, an anatomical-standardization-processing-unit that calculates a standard-magnetic-susceptibility-image and a spatially-normalized tissue-image by performing spatially normalization processing on the magnetic-susceptibility-image and the tissue-image and calculates a volume modulated spatially-normalized tissue-image obtained by performing volume modulation on the spatially-normalized tissue-image, a magnetic-susceptibility-calculation-unit that calculates magnetic susceptibility of the specific tissue based on the spatially-normalized -magnetic-susceptibility-image and the spatially-normalized tissue-image, and a diagnostic-index-calculation-unit that calculates a diagnostic index for diagnosing a predetermined disease based on the magnetic susceptibility of the specific tissue and the volume modulated spatially-normalized tissue-image.

Image processor, image processing method, program for image processing, and magnetic resonance imaging apparatus

Provided is a technique for calculating an oxygen extraction fraction by using MRI where the oxygen extraction fraction in a brain including brain parenchyma is calculated via a simple processing without an impact on an examinee, such as administration of caffeine. For this purpose, an MRI apparatus of the present invention measures a complex image of nuclear magnetic resonance signals, and calculates from thus measured complex image, a physical property distribution for obtaining a physical property image reflecting the oxygen extraction fraction. Then, thus calculated physical property distribution is separated into tissue-specific physical property distributions for at least two tissues (separated tissue images). After converting any of the separated tissue images into the oxygen extraction fraction, a distribution of the oxygen extraction fraction is estimated based on the condition that a value of any selected pixel is substantially equal to a mean value of pixels surrounding the selected pixel.

Magnetic resonance imaging device and method for calculating oxygen extraction fractions

In calculating a local magnetic field distribution caused by a magnetic susceptibility difference between living tissues, using MRI, a local frequency distribution with a high SNR is calculated in a short computation time. Multi-echo complex images obtained by measurement of at least two different echo times using the MRI are converted into low-resolution images. A global frequency distribution caused by global magnetic field changes and an offset phase distribution including a reception phase and a transmission phase are separated from a phase distribution of the low-resolution multi-echo complex images. Thus calculated global frequency distribution and the offset phase distribution are enhanced in resolution. A local frequency distribution of each echo is calculated from the measured multi-echo complex images, the high-resolution global frequency distribution, and the high-resolution offset phase distribution. The local frequency distributions of respective echoes are subjected to weighted averaging, whereby a final local frequency distribution is calculated.

Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and image processing method

Provided is a technique in calculating a magnetic susceptibility distribution by using an MRI, for reducing artifacts and noise and improving precision in the magnetic susceptibility distribution being calculated. According to this technique, a magnetic field distribution is obtained via a phase image from a complex image acquired through MRI. Under the constraint based on a relational expression between the magnetic field and the magnetic susceptibility, smoothing process is performed iteratively on the magnetic susceptibility distribution calculated from the magnetic field distribution. Specifically, a minimization process for minimizing through the iterative operation, an error function defined by a predetermined initial magnetic susceptibility distribution and the magnetic field distribution is performed, thereby calculating the magnetic susceptibility distribution. At this time, an updated magnetic susceptibility distribution calculated based on the error function during the minimization process is smoothed, every time the updated magnetic susceptibility distribution is calculated.

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Tokyo, Japan

Ryota Satoh